Wednesday, June 19, 2013

Over the last several years I have heard some really out there things from the new wave of hyper extreme, far right, industrial strength wing-nut Republicans... I have heard some really crazy stuff… I have heard some really disturbing stuff… I have heard things that make no sense at all… But this one takes the cake.

I can't think of a single comment I want to make about this at this juncture so I will just lay it out for you.

This Monday at a House Rules Committee hearing on a GOP bill that would ban abortions starting at 20 weeks after conception Rep. Michael Burgess (R-Texas) said that abortion should be banned as early as 15 weeks after conception because he has witnessed male fetuses masturbate at that stage.

His exact words were:

"This is a subject that I do know something about… There is no question in my mind that a baby at 20 weeks after conception can feel pain. The fact of the matter is, I argue with the chairman because I thought the date was far too late. We should be setting this at 15 weeks, 16 weeks. Watch a sonogram of a 15-week baby, and they have movements that are purposeful. They stroke their face. If they’re a male baby, they may have their hand between their legs. If they feel pleasure, why is it so hard to think that they could feel pain?"

The only problem with Burgess's argument isn't based in science.

Jeanne Conry, president of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists said: "We certainly can see a movement of a fetus during that time, but in terms of any knowledge about pleasure or pain - there are no data to assess,. We don't know enough about the biology and the science."

Any media reports on masturbation by fetuses can almost exclusively be traced back to a single letter written by two OB/GYNs in Italy in 1996 and published in the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology. The letter related an anecdote in which the two doctors had "recently observed a female fetus at 32 weeks gestation touching the vulva with the fingers of the right hand" before the female fetus experienced prolonged spasms, and "finally...relaxed and rested."

The 32 weeks gestation period is more than double of what Burgess proposed. I guess he must have a couple of bootleg videos of 15 week old male fetuses jacking it in his own personal stash.

Burgess, whose office did not respond to request for comment, serves on the House Energy and Commerce Committee, where he is the vice chair of the Subcommittee on Health.

Here's a question... What if the male fetus is thinking about other same sex male fetus'? Would it destroy "traditional pregnancy" as we know it and would it be ok to abort them then?